Narrative: c. 2.

At present, there is a labor supply shortage for the current and future demands for skilled workers in specific industries. Well-trained and qualified workers with disabilities are essential to meet the supply with the demand for qualified workers in targeted and growing industrial sectors to enable the state of West Virginia to achieve its maximum economic development potential. STEP21 has been WVDRS' strategy for the last two years, and it is designed to meet the mandates of WIOA and to satisfy West Virginia's labor needs. STEP21 requires all VR stakeholders (e.g., consumers, VR counselors, school counselors, special education teachers, parents, CRPs/service providers, etc.) to demand more and do more to enhance the system's service provision and its final outcomes of generating more well-qualified workers, especially those with disabilities. WVDRS and its WV Combined State Plan partners have been working together with the Governor's Office to develop a pipeline of qualified and needed workers for the in-demand jobs and industries for continuing economic growth and prosperity for the state and citizens of West Virginia. This belief is embedded in the Combined State Plan and the ways in which WVDRS has been and will be operating during the next 4-year period of PY24 to PY27. The new state goals and strategies of the Combined State Plan are consistent and parallel to WVDRS goals and priorities and will help prepare the state of West Virginia to experience economic growth and prosperity and improve the economic benefits of West Virginia workers, especially those with disabilities.

The workforce development system (WDS) of West Virginia believes that its successful activities positively contribute to the ongoing mission of increasing the labor force participation rate. The following are the current standing goals of the WDS, which will be updated when new WDS goals for Program Years 2024-2027 have been formally approved.

WDS Goal 1: Work-Based Learning

West Virginia will expand and implement high-quality work-based learning opportunities for youth and adult learners.

WDS Goal 2: Reduce Barriers to Sustainable Employment

West Virginia will increase referrals and integration of services to improve access to supportive services customized for individuals needing education and employment.

WDS Goal 3: Sector Strategies

West Virginia will implement comprehensive sector strategy approaches to reduce skills mismatches and enhance faster labor market attachment while informing education and training priorities.

WDS Goal 4: Integration and Innovation in Service Delivery

West Virginia will implement the Blue Ribbon Franchise Model of workforce service delivery to increase the efficiency of service delivery and effectiveness in serving businesses, workers, and job seekers.

It is an ongoing priority of WVDRS to ensure that all consumers have access to necessary services so they can meet their employment goals. Findings from the latest CSNA demonstrate the need for access to many services including transportation, psychological/psychiatric services, hearing/audiological services, and financial/tuition support. Presently, these services are being provided by WVDRS to consumers, as needed, so they can meet identified employment goals.

During FY 2023, the majority of WVDRS consumers were transition-aged youth, who were assisted with the college education services they needed to meet their employment-related education goals, as well as pre-employment transition services (Pre-ETS) to over 1,900 students with disabilities. WVDRS recognizes the importance of these services for consumers to obtain high-quality employment outcomes that will empower them to further their careers throughout their lifetimes. Additionally, WVDRS has specially trained rehabilitation counselors who work to meet the vocational rehabilitation needs of consumers who are deaf and hard of hearing. In FY 2023, WVDRS served more than 1,100 consumers with hearing impairments as their disability and spent more than $3.5 million on hearing-related services for these individuals.

WVDRS works diligently throughout the year to ensure access to all services needed by consumers. However, WVDRS and the SRC continue to emphasize the need to address access to transportation services as a specific goal because of the rural nature of West Virginia and how significantly this barrier to employment affects so many individuals with disabilities throughout the state.

WVDRS is fully committed to coordinate its activities and services with core and community partners to ensure successful completion of West Virginia's WDS goals. The following goals highlight specific focus areas for WVDRS that will also contribute to the overall goals of the West Virginia WDS:

WVDRS Goal 1 – Provide integrated vocational rehabilitation services to West Virginians with disabilities to promote attainment of a high school education or greater in order to increase their ability to move through meaningful career pathways.

• Linked to WDS Goal 1: Work-Based Learning; WDS Goal 3: Sector Strategies; WDS Goal 4: Integration and Innovation in Service Delivery

In West Virginia, 58.2% of people 25 and older with disabilities have a high school degree or lower, compared to 44.1% of people without disabilities. Of those who have some college or above, 13.7% of people with disabilities graduate from college, compared to the 23.2% of people with disabilities who have some college experience or an associate degree. Meanwhile, the levels for people without disabilities are closer, 27.1% of that population have some college or associate degrees, while 27.1% have graduated from college. Close relationships with the WV Adult Education Program and the WV Higher Education Policy Commission, as well as State and local education agencies, will help to close this education gap.

Strategies and Methods

WVDRS will continue to monitor the educational achievement of all of its consumers, especially those in the transition youth (TY) population. Youth have become a primary focus in vocational rehabilitation and WVDRS will work closely and diligently with State and Local Education Agencies to ensure that its TY population receives the services that it needs, including pre–employment transition services (Pre- ETS) for students with disabilities. Each high school in WV has a WVDRS counselor assigned to it to guarantee the service provision of students with disabilities. A greater emphasis is now being placed for counselors to do outreach with these students and their parents/guardians during their freshman and sophomore years (rather than their junior year, as was formerly practiced) in order to maximize the counseling opportunities.

WVDRS counselors will continue to take part in the Individualized Education Program (IEP) development of students with disabilities when they are invited to do so. Counselors will also stay in contact with educators to discuss and resolve educational difficulties as they arise. WVDRS will also work closely with WV Adult Education, referring consumers as needed, to ensure that individuals with disabilities have an adequate opportunity to obtain a completed high school level education.

WVDRS Goal 1 Benchmark – For PY24 and PY25, WVDRS expects to achieve a credential attainment rate of 49% and 50% respectively. Additionally, we are going to increase the number of credentials attained by 5% each program year.

WVDRS Goal 2 – Provide Pre-Employment Transition Services (Pre-ETS) to students with disabilities.

• Linked to WDS Goal 1: Work-Based Learning; WDS Goal 3: Sector Strategies; WDS Goal 4: Integration and Innovation in Service Delivery

Pursuant to requirements of WIOA and findings from the 2024 CSNA, WVDRS will, in cooperation with State and Local Education Agencies, provide Pre-ETS to students with disabilities, focusing on students 21 years or younger while still in high school. The provision of Pre-ETS offers students with disabilities information about careers, career opportunities, education and training programs, and self–advocacy. This information and work-based learning experiences can lead to more well-informed career decision making and can empower students with disabilities to become more educated and skilled, moving toward a career that meets their needs.

Strategies and Methods

The 2024 comprehensive statewide needs assessment (CSNA) indicated that job exploration counseling was the most frequently reported pre-employment transition service need. In accordance with this, and per the requirements of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), WVDRS counselors in high schools will provide Pre-ETS to students with disabilities, especially job exploration counseling, in order to give students with disabilities and their parents/guardians a better understanding of labor market conditions, current and emerging career opportunities, and the necessary education and training requirements related to those opportunities.

WVDRS will continue to work closely with the WV Office of Special Education to ensure that special education teachers, parents, and students with disabilities are aware of the availability of Pre- ETS. This work will continue through joint-training conferences with special education staff from across the state. Additional, intensive training on the Pathways to the Future Pre-ETS website will also continue to be provided to special education teachers in upcoming years. As part of its outreach campaign, WVDRS will continue to place large banners in high schools and distribute Pre-ETS materials to students with disabilities across the state. Additional outreach using large posters will target eighth grade, career and technical education, and postsecondary students at locations across the state.

In addition to ongoing program activities, WVDRS will continue to sponsor the Career Exploration Opportunity (CEO) Summits, four-day summer workshops for students with disabilities statewide. The CEO Summits will be held in multiple locations across the state to ensure statewide coverage. WVDRS will utilize the assistance of Community Rehabilitation Programs (CRPs) to conduct the Summit activities. Class size for each of the Summits will be approximately 20 students. Students will earn a stipend for the time they attend. WVDRS will also request WorkForce WV and WV Adult Education to participate in the Summits to provide additional information to the students.

Topics to be covered:

• Career planning
• Career preparation
• SSI/SSDI Information
• Understanding the importance of necessary personal documents (e.g., social security card, driver’s license, birth certificate, pay stubs)
• Communication
• Conflict Management
• Employer Expectations
• Attendance and Punctuality
• Timeliness of task completion
• Be able to work without supervision
• Positive work ethic
• Manage multiple tasks
• High–growth Jobs
• Personal Brand
• Job Hunting Tools – resumes, cover letters, interviews, and digital profiles

WVDRS Goal 2 Benchmark – WVDRS will increase the number of students receiving Pre-ETS services by 5% in each program year and will utilize at least 15% of vocational rehabilitation federal allocations for Pre-ETS each year.

WVDRS Goal 3 – Provide integrated vocational rehabilitation services to West Virginians with disabilities, committing to the use of the Employment First framework, to enable them to obtain competitive, integrated employment, especially in occupations and careers within emerging industries statewide.

• Linked to WDS Goal 1: Work-Based Learning; WDS Goal 2: Reduce Barriers to Sustainable Employment; WDS Goal 3: Sector Strategies; WDS Goal 4: Integration and Innovation in Service Delivery

From a Bureau of Labor Statistics’ October 2023 report, West Virginia had the second lowest workforce participation rate (all individuals, with and without disabilities) among all the states and the District of Columbia, with 55.1% compared to the national average of 62.7%. Individuals with barriers to employment, including those with disabilities, have lower employment/workforce participation rates. Labor force participation among persons with disabilities in West Virginia has been steadily declining in recent years. Since 2010, labor force participation among these individuals is estimated to have fallen from 31.7% (63,609) to 29.7% (50,814) in 2021. As of 2021, labor force participation for persons with disabilities in West Virginia was 11 percentage points below the national rate of 40.7%. West Virginia has a high poverty rate, with 17.9% of residents below the poverty level compared to 11.5% nationally (https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/IPE120222). The poverty rate is especially high for individuals with disabilities, with estimates that 31.3% of West Virginians with disabilities between the ages of 18-64 (53,491 of 171,095) were living in poverty in 2021, the 7th highest rate in the nation. excluding Puerto Rico. Even among those employed, there are still significant numbers of West Virginians who earn below the poverty line.

Workforce WV expects the largest numeric change in employment growth (from 2016 to 2026) to occur in the industries of Health Care and Social Assistance (+19,026; 14.94%), Ambulatory Health Care Services (+9,675; 23.90%), Educational Services (+4,498; 7.52%), Government (+3,996; 5.40%), Construction (+3,701; 12.36%), and Social Assistance (+3,507; 19.67%).

Strategies and Methods

Collaboration with WorkForce WV

WVDRS will maintain regular communication with WorkForce WV to stay abreast of trends in employment, including changes in education and training requirements. This will be accomplished through regular meetings of the workforce development system (WDS), written communications, teleconferences, and other media, as appropriate. WVDRS, particularly through its employment specialists, will also stay informed of emerging careers and occupations via WorkForce WV’s Labor Market Information website. WVDRS employment specialists continuously collect employment information from their business contacts. This information, including job orders for open positions, is immediately input into the WorkForce WV’s online Mid Atlantic Career Consortium (MACC) system and shared within the WDS.

WVDRS will continue to serve on Business Service Teams (BSTs) with WorkForce WV, Adult Education, local workforce development boards, and other related entities. Through training and standardizing informational materials, when possible, these teams provide a full range of WDS information when making visits to employers. This will allow the WDS to maximize the impact of employer visits and ensure that businesses are aware of all resources available through the WDS.

Use of WVDRS Employment Specialists

WVDRS will continue to use its employment specialists to gather information regarding employers at the local level, including information regarding job placements for individuals with disabilities and regarding current and expected employer needs.

WVDRS has an in-house Employer Services Section that specializes in providing employers with disability-related information, services, and pre-screened job seekers. The WVDRS Employer Services Section has nine employment specialists that cover all 55 counties in West Virginia. WVDRS’ team of employment specialists provide business owners and employers with critical business options and assistance in staffing, employee retention strategies, education on disability-related issues, job accommodations, and information about financial incentives for employers who hire individuals with disabilities.

Direct contact with employers is a key strategy to identify competitive integrated employment and career exploration opportunities for VR consumers, including students with disabilities.

Employment specialists, therefore, contact employers directly to identify current and future job openings. To facilitate this, WVDRS utilizes labor market information provided by WorkForce WV to identify the top employers in each county; contact is always made with the top ten employers in each county. When meeting with employers, employment specialists provide valuable information, including the WVDRS Employer Resource Guide and employment-related WorkForce WV information. The WVDRS Employer Resource Guide provides the following information:

• Staffing services
• Training programs and incentives for hiring people with disabilities
• Financial incentives
• Accessibility assessments
• Accommodating employees with disabilities
• Basic disability etiquette
• Attitudinal barriers
• Americans with Disabilities Act
• Locating a WVDRS office
• Where to find additional resources

The Employer Services Section maintains a database of each WVDRS–employer interaction with VR employment specialists. The information collected includes the business name, contact person, and current job openings by occupation. If needed, a referral to the WVDRS Rehabilitation Technology Unit is made to address workplace accommodations. This list is distributed to field staff to potentially match a job-ready VR consumer with a current job opening. Through positive working relationships, 47 employers, including some of the largest in the state, now send job postings directly to WVDRS’ Employer Services Section.

The Employer Services Section also works with employers to better serve transitioning youth with disabilities, including providing career exploration opportunities for students with disabilities. In 2015, WVDRS debuted the Positive Outcomes within Education and Rehabilitation (POWER) program. POWER is a job shadowing program that offers transitioning students, who may be having a difficult time choosing a career path, the opportunity to experience an occupation by spending time with a professional working in the students’ vocational goal/career field of interest. The POWER program allows the student the opportunity to experience an occupation prior to committing to training. It guides the student to take a serious, realistic look at the occupation, allowing the student to make a more informed choice.

Assistive Technology

WVDRS will continue to provide rehabilitation technology solutions to individuals with disabilities, as needed, so those individuals can become employed or maintain employment. WVDRS has developed working relationships and agreements for the coordination of activities with the West Virginia Assistive Technology System (WVATS) of the West Virginia University Center for Excellence in Disabilities. WVATS’ role is to provide access to and help with the acquisition of assistive technology (AT) devices and services for individuals with disabilities. WVATS also provides device demonstrations, device loans, training, AT information, and technical assistance.

WVDRS has a Rehabilitation Technology Unit which provides AT consultations and solutions to eligible VR consumers with AT needs throughout the state. With the coordination of services between WVDRS and WVATS, assurances are made that needed AT solutions can be provided to individuals with disabilities.

WVDRS Goal 3 Benchmark – WVDRS will continue to increase the number of consumers successfully closed in competitive integrated employment each program year.

Findings from the 2024 CSNA indicated the need to continue to improve VR services relating to the two most recently added WVDRS goals.

WVDRS Goal 4 – Improve access and availability of transportation options for WVDRS consumers who need transportation assistance to achieve or maintain competitive, integrated employment.

• Linked to WDS Goal 2: Reduce Barriers to Sustainable Employment; WDS Goal 4: Integration and Innovation in Service Delivery

FY 2024 CSNA findings from field staff surveys indicate a need for continued efforts to increase the availability of transportation throughout the state. Based on responses by stakeholders across the state, including observations and recommendations by the WV State Rehabilitation Council, transportation continues to be an issue and a perceived barrier to employment/training. WVDRS continues to focus on individualized transportation solutions (ITS) to help alleviate the transportation gap while taking into account the wide array of circumstances that West Virginians with disabilities experience. WVDRS counselors also encourage consumers’ family members to assist with reimbursable transportation. WVDRS will continue to make sure that consumers are aware of these options and will continue to identify targeted solutions to the varied transportation issues for West Virginians with disabilities, focusing specifically on ITS.

Strategies and Methods

Transportation is an ongoing issue for West Virginians with disabilities, due to the rural nature of the state. A large proportion of the State’s inhabitants live far away from jobs, agency offices, and other resources. WVDRS continues its commitment to reduce transportation barriers for consumers with disabilities and to focus on individual transportation solutions (ITS) to satisfy immediate transportation needs. To help reduce these barriers, WVDRS counselors will encourage planning for transportation needs early in the development of a consumer’s rehabilitation program. At application, counselors will identify transportation issues and focus on finding solutions to include in the consumer’s Individualized Plan for Employment (IPE). This will ensure that the ability of consumers to reach their vocational goal is not impeded by preventable transportation barriers. Transportation issues also will be addressed by the standard instrument prescribed for routine use by supervisors and quality assurance staff in case reviews. Beyond ITS, WVDRS will continue to assign responsibility to a staff member in each branch office to maintain a list and working knowledge of local transportation options and will continue to participate in local and state initiatives to coordinate and expand transportation resources.

WVDRS Goal 4 Benchmark – WVDRS will continue to provide transportation services to more consumers each program year.

WVDRS Goal 5 – Continue to build collaborative relationships with community providers [including Community Rehabilitation Programs (CRPs), Independent Living, and other community providers] to enhance the availability of services to WVDRS consumers.

• Linked to WDS Goal 2: Reduce Barriers to Sustainable Employment; WDS Goal 4: Integration and Innovation in Service Delivery

VR consumers require specialized services provided by CRPs statewide to achieve an integrated, competitive employment outcome. Responses from the CSNA indicate there still is a need for WVDRS to continue to improve collaborative relationships with all community providers. Findings from the CSNA point to a need to focus efforts on specific geographic areas within the state where miscommunication between community providers and WVDRS counselors continues. WVDRS will increase its focus on the provision of services for consumers with most significant disabilities under a Supported Employment Individualized Plan for Employment, especially for those who reside in rural areas.

Strategies and Methods

A large amount of the success that WVDRS has in its mission to enable and empower individuals with disabilities to work and to live independently hinges on its relationships with CRPs. In general, WVDRS has good working relationships with the various CRPs throughout the State. However, CSNA results suggest that improvements can be made, particularly in specific geographic areas. To facilitate this improvement, WVDRS has established a number of strategies to put into action:

• Continue to educate field staff, especially the new counselors, about CRPs and their services. Use of the new ‘CRP Locator’ tool (a web-based, user-friendly vendor guide) and counselor CRP site visits will increase awareness of available service options, which will help to maintain collaborative relationships with CRPs and enhance the availability of services to WVDRS consumers.
• Continue to maintain regular communications between WVDRS and community providers in each district and at the state level. Each WVDRS district will continue to host joint meetings with WVDRS district and branch office staff and CRPs in those districts to provide opportunities for CRP representatives and WVDRS personnel to discuss local service needs of WVDRS consumers, particularly to enhance service availability in rural areas. Subsequent to each meeting, the local WVDRS office will be required to send a brief report to the CRP Program Manager. This process will allow all parties involved in the expansion of community-based services to be kept informed of progress and issues. WVDRS will continue to examine the information and recommendations collected from various meetings between CRP and WVDRS staff members.
• Increase focus on the provision of services for consumers with most significant disabilities under a Supported Employment Individualized Plan for Employment, especially for those who reside in rural areas.

Progress on communication will continue to be made as the WVDRS acquires more understanding of the issues and barriers facing the CRP and WVDRS staff members in their service provision to persons with significant disabilities in WV. Ongoing communication activities with CRPs also will include:

• An email listserv with all current vendors that will be updated periodically and utilized to send out training opportunities, policy changes, and general updates when needed.
• WVDRS counselors in each district will continue to be assigned as liaisons to each CRP and will continue to be required to complete a monthly update regarding the CRP. They will collect this information by visits and/or phone calls. Having CRP liaisons that regularly discuss service-related issues specific to the local service area(s) will aid in maintaining collaborative working relationships and enhancing the availability of services to consumers.
• Two rehabilitation specialists covering all districts in the state will provide technical assistance to CRPs and WVDRS staff. They will make site visits to CRP and WVDRS district and branch offices. During these visits, they will provide technical assistance and schedule training and other meetings that need to occur. They will serve as a communication link when issues arise and make themselves available to attend the communication meetings and transition team meetings.
• Conduct site visits to ensure that community providers continue to meet WVDRS standards and requirements.
• Increase the service provision of acknowledged vendors and work with community providers to expand their service areas to enhance the availability of community services within needed areas.
• Continue to conduct Transition Team meetings at the district level with WVDRS, WV Department of Education, and CRP staff members. The meetings will be held to promote interagency collaboration by allowing staff from each agency/CRP to become familiar with the different eligibility requirements and service definitions across agencies.
• Continue to conduct cross training and face-to-face meetings with community partners at the local level.
• Continue to assign liaison responsibilities to staff members and provide them guidance about the purpose of WVDRS participation in community events.
• Monitor the WVDRS counselors/supervisors/managers’ perception of the quality of CRP services through a survey instrument.
• Monitor and assess the impact of the Quality Assurance Unit on the counselor’s case management practices by using data generated from the quality assurance specialists’ review of cases.

WVDRS Goal 5 Benchmark – WVDRS will maintain quarterly meetings with CRPs, and other service providers, as appropriate, at the district level.

For the development of agency goals and priorities, WVDRS followed WIOA guidance in the development of the Combined State Plan. WVDRS worked closely with the WIOA core partners, including WorkForce WV and WV Adult Education. The WVDRS goals and priorities were developed to support the overall state goals and priorities in achieving a well-integrated workforce development system that provided customer-focused services to job seekers in West Virginia.

The West Virginia SRC maintained involvement throughout the development and assessment of agency goals and priorities in a variety of ways and provided WVDRS with valued input and recommendations. WVDRS executive managers, representatives of SRC, the West Virginia SILC, and the CAP were invited to discuss WVDRS goals and priorities for carrying out the VR and supported employment programs. The Executive Directors of the SRC and SILC attend monthly WVDRS EMG meetings to discuss various ongoing issues affecting the agency and are privy to the current goals, objectives, and strategies pertaining to specific agency issues. Additional involvement occurs through WVDRS staff members attending SRC and SILC meetings to share information regarding agency performance, needs assessment, and State Plan activities. The SRC was afforded electronic access to the PY 2024 State Plan for review. The SRC members discuss WVDRS activities at regularly scheduled meetings and provide input to WVDRS.

To foster a customer-focused approach to VR services, WVDRS works with the WV State Rehabilitation Council and Statewide Independent Living Council and uses Innovation and Expansion (I&E) resources to support the activities of these groups. As appropriate, WVDRS will continue to use I&E funds to discover, generate, and improve upon service delivery processes to individuals with disabilities. Additionally, with the emphasis on Pre-ETS to students with disabilities now in place by WIOA, there are significant opportunities for discoveries that can be made using I&E resources.

WVDRS acknowledges the legal requirement to report on the performance accountability indicators under Section 116 of WIOA. However, data collection on the performance accountability indicators is only beginning, making a full report of WVDRS performance impossible at this time. As WVDRS moves forward in its task to place individuals with disabilities into competitive, integrated employment in PY 2024, it will continue to collect and monitor participant data to generate reports on:

• The percentage of program participants who are in unsubsidized employment during the second quarter after exit from the program;
• The percentage of program participants who are in unsubsidized employment during the fourth quarter after exit from the program;
• The median earnings of program participants who are in unsubsidized employment during the second quarter after exit from the program;
• The percentage of program participants who obtain a recognized postsecondary credential, or a secondary school diploma or its recognized equivalent, during participation in or within 1 year after exit from the program;
• The percentage of program participants who, during a program year, are in an education or training program that leads to a recognized postsecondary credential or employment and who are achieving measurable skill gains toward such a credential or employment; and
• The indicators of effectiveness in serving employers.

For PY 2022, WVDRS achieved the following performance on the performance accountability indicators under section 116 of WIOA:

• The percentage of program participants who are in unsubsidized employment during the second quarter after exit from the program – 72.8%
• The median earnings of program participants who are in unsubsidized employment during the second quarter after exit from the program – $7,063
• The percentage of program participants who are in unsubsidized employment during the fourth quarter after exit from the program – 70.1%
• The percentage of program participants who obtain a recognized postsecondary credential, or a secondary school diploma or its recognized equivalent, during participation in or within 1 year after exit from the program – 48.8%
• The percentage of program participants who, during a program year, are in an education or training program that leads to a recognized postsecondary credential or employment and who are achieving measurable skill gains toward such a credential or employment – 46.3%